Teen's work gets national attention

Receiving public recognition for his efforts to bring comfort to sick children has never been Austin Phelps' intention.

Jackie Bridges / Staff Writer

Receiving public recognition for his efforts to bring comfort to sick children has never been Austin Phelps' intention.

He doesn't want the praise for himself, but desires the focus to be on comforting sick, hurting or scared children who are in the hospital for an emergency or a longer stay.

But a story about Austin's non-profit organization, "Operation Raglie," - published in The Star on Sept. 3 - was sent out on the national Associated Press wire service and in the last week has been published in newspapers across North Carolina and the country, from Florida to Illinois and California.

The story also caught the attention of the producers of "The Doctors" television show. On Thursday, Austin was filmed for a "shout out" for the show, which will air sometime in October. "The Doctors" can be seen on WCNC-TV at 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. The show's producers have also invited Austin to come on the show for an interview sometime in November, according to his mom, Danyel.

"My reaction was just absolute shock," 17-year-old Austin said in an email. "I was so amazed at how much attention Operation Raglie was getting. I feel so blessed, because this was never my intention, but now, it just makes me realize how many more people I can reach because of this. I hope that one day, no child enters the hospital without receiving a Raglie item. And I hope more teens are able to see that we can make a difference."

People reading the article have donated stuffed animals to Austin's organization and he has been asked to speak at Girl Scout meetings and church groups. He also received a letter from U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan.

Austin, a senior at Cleveland Early College High School in Shelby, started "Operation Raglie" by accident. He was 4 years old and a patient in the hospital trying to get some rest, but a child in the next room was screaming. To quiet the child, Austin let him borrow his own security blanket, named "Raglie."

"He didn't want to give it back," Austin said. "So I gave him a stuffed animal that I had, so he would give me my blankie back. A few weeks later, my mom and I decided to bring some stuffed animals to the hospital to leave for the kids who were patients there and that's where it started. And then it just kind of grew."

After Austin took stuffed animals and blankets to the pediatric unit at Cleveland Regional Medical Center, the staff asked him to bring some to the Emergency Department. He also started taking the toys and blankets to Kings Mountain Hospital, Gaston Hospital and Brenner Children's Hospital, where he was being treated for Epilepsy. He also takes animals and blankets to Carolinas Medical and the Hemby Pedi Unit at Presbyterian. Next year he plans to study law at Campbell University and will look for other hospitals where he can donate animals and toys.

Austin has given away about 5,000 stuffed animals and blankets since 2000.